Business disputes in Ohio often happen in many different areas. Frequently businesses disagree on the exact terms of prior contracts or arrangements. Also, billing issues and property matters can give rise to disagreements in the business setting.

What to Do in a Business Dispute?

If you are involved in a business dispute in Steubenville, Ohio you should first review all relevant documents, including past and current contracts. These documents might contain clauses that dictate how and where you should handle a dispute. Not all contracts have dispute resolution clauses, of course, and occasionally neither business has any documents relevant to the dispute at all. If that is the case, a court might be needed to resolve the dispute. Ohio courts may use legal principles to determine the outcome when the parties have not agreed beforehand about how to handle a dispute. In so doing, they look carefully to a specific case to discover the best resolution for all involved. Disputes over contracts and other agreements are handled differently depending on the laws of each state. Lawyers in Steubenville know the laws of Ohio, and can offer individualized advice for those involved in business disputes. Discussion with the other business about how to resolve the dispute might also proceed more smoothly under the direction of an attorney, avoiding the need to go to court.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Sometimes contracts themselves require that disputes under them be resolved outside of court. Methods of conflict resolution of this form are called Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR. ADR includes Mediation, Arbitration and sometimes a combination of the two. ADR makes going to court unnecessary, because it is designed to reach the same result that a court would have. Still, some methods of ADR entail their own formal procedures, most enlisting a third party to determine a dispute based on local law just as a judge would do. If your business dispute is to be resolved by ADR, an attorney experienced with these methods in Steubenville can counsel you throughout the process and develop the case you will present.